special-TEA-Tuesday

I want to get back to some of my original fancy glass ideas of a few special things each week. Originally, since tea is a huge part of my food and bevie life I wanted to write on Tuesdays- about tea... and called it SpecialTea Tuesday! Needless to say like many good intentions, I never stuck to this one. BUT I am back at it and this week's edition is going to be all about Rooibos.

I, like many people, first heard about rooibos tea while reading the book "The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency" The main character- a large woman in Africa- was always drinking this Red bush tea and serving it to her clients. made me curious.

This cooincided with a need to find a nice hot tea beverage with no caffine for night time. I am not a big fan of herbal teas generally speaking- Some are nice, but I usually like black or green tea. Both of which have caffine. So I decided to try this newly popluarized brew Red Bush tea or as it was known in South Africa "Rooibos"

according to Wikipedia...

Rooibos, (Afrikaans for red bush; pronounced [rɔɪbɔs]; scientific name Aspalathus linearis) is a member of the legume family of plants and is used to make a tisane (herbal tea). Commonly called african red tea, the product has been popular in South Africa for generations and is now consumed in many countries.

Some key points of Rooibos;

• Rooibos Tea is a herbal tea:

It is prepared from the leaves of the herb Aspalathus Linearis.

• Rooibos is unique to South Africa:

It is produced only in the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. Rooibos (pronounced “roy-boss”) is an Afrikaans word meaning “red bush”, referring to the garnet colour of the herb leaves after fermentation.

• Rooibos is known as the New Miracle Brew:

Black and Green Teas were much acclaimed for their wonderful health indications, but now Red Tea (Rooibos) is the New Miracle Brew!
Rooibos has 50 times the anti-oxidant power of green tea!
The health benefits of Rooibos for both adults and children are quite remarkable!

• Rooibos contains NO caffeine:

Even decaffeinated green tea has 30mg of caffeine per cup!

• Rooibos has a wonderful flavour:

It does not taste like a herbal tea at all - only like a sweeter version of regular teas. Rooibos has no bitter aftertaste - no matter how long it is left to brew!

• Rooibos is an everyday / anytime beverage:

• Rooibos is very versatile.

So these days, my evening drink of choice as I surf the net at night and read food books is to drink a cup of hot red bush tea with my husband.